1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to trailer hitch apparatuses, and in particular, to a combined trailer hitch apparatus attachable to a tow vehicle for alternately towing gooseneck and fifth wheel trailers.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
It is often desired to use a single tow vehicle (e.g., a pickup truck or the like) to tow a gooseneck trailer and, alternately, a fifth wheel trailer. Both fifth wheel trailers and gooseneck trailers are commonly towed by trucks having substantially flat beds (e.g., a conventional pickup truck) and are conventionally mounted or xe2x80x9chitchedxe2x80x9d to the tow vehicle substantially between the rear wheels and over the rear axle of the tow vehicle. The front of a fifth wheel trailer is normally constructed so as to extend over the rear bed of a tow vehicle and includes a kingpin depending from the bottom thereof for engaging a fifth wheel hitch mechanism mounted to the bed of the tow vehicle substantially between the rear wheels and over the rear axle of the tow vehicle. The front of a gooseneck trailer is normally constructed with a curved neck for extending over the rear bed of a tow vehicle with the neck terminating in a receiver for receiving a hitch ball of a ball-type hitch mechanism mounted to the bed of the tow vehicle substantially between the rear wheels and over the rear axle of the tow vehicle.
A preliminary patentability search in Class 280, subclasses 415.1, 416.1, 416.3, 417.1 and 901, produced the following patents, which appear to be relevant to the present invention: Meyerhofer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,257, issued Aug. 4, 1998; Cattau, U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,229, issued Jun. 30, 1998; Putnam, U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,869, issued May 7, 1996; Jaun, U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,172, issued Sep. 6, 1994; Hohrman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,285, issued Nov. 28, 1989; Taylor, U.S. Pat. 4,546,994, issued Oct. 15, 1985; Schneckloth, U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,548, issued Jan. 15, 1980; and Johannes, U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,188, issued Feb. 5, 1974.
Nothing in the known prior art, either singly or in combination, disclose or suggest the present invention. More specifically, nothing in the known prior art discloses or suggests a combination hitch including a base for being attached to the bed of a tow vehicle, the base including a ball hitch member located substantially over the centerline of the rear axle of the tow vehicle; and a superstructure movable from a first position attached to the base to a second position attached to the base, the superstructure having a pin box hitch member located substantially directly over the ball hitch member and the centerline of the rear axle of the tow vehicle when the superstructure is in the first position and not located substantially directly over the ball hitch member and the centerline of the rear axle of the tow vehicle when the superstructure is in the second position.
The present invention provides a hitch for allowing a towed vehicle (e.g., a fifth wheel or gooseneck trailer or the like) to be fastened to a tow vehicle (e.g., a pick up truck or the like). A basic concept of the present invention is to provide a combination hitch that allows quick and easy conversion between a fifth wheel hitch and a gooseneck hitch, etc., without requiring tools of any type.
The combination hitch of the present invention comprises, in general, a base for being attached to the bed of a tow vehicle, the base including a ball hitch member located substantially over the centerline of the rear axle of the tow vehicle; and a superstructure movable from a first position attached to the base to a second position attached to the base, the superstructure having a pin box hitch member located substantially directly over the ball hitch member and the centerline of the rear axle of the tow vehicle when the superstructure is in the first position and not located substantially directly over the ball hitch member and the centerline of the rear axle of the tow vehicle when the superstructure is in the second position.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a combination hitch that allows the same tow vehicle to be utilized for fifth wheel trailer and gooseneck trailer towing, etc., without being cumbersome or time consuming.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination hitch having a superstructure that merely slides forward of the centerline of the rear axle of the tow vehicle (towards the front of the tow vehicle) to expose a ball hitch member for optimum towing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination hitch having superstructure that merely slides over the centerline of the rear axle of the tow vehicle to position a pin box hitch member for optimum towing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination hitch having superstructure that merely slides rearward of the centerline of the rear axle of the tow vehicle (toward the rear of the tow vehicle) to position a pin box hitch member for optimum or enhanced towing without damaging the tow vehicle or towed vehicle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination hitch that can be very quickly and efficiently repositioned by pulling a single handle to unlock the superstructure from the base, requiring no tools and no hardware removal.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a combination hitch having a pin box that tilts fore and aft and side to side, and also swivels a limited amount about an axis to allow compensation for misalignment between tow vehicle and towed vehicle during fastening of the towed vehicle to the combination hitch (i.e., during hook-up).
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a combination hitch that will work with a fastening system such as the mounting apparatus disclosed in King, U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,761, issued Dec. 12, 2000, so that no modification (e.g., holes cut, burned or drilled) is required to the bed of the tow vehicle, etc.